Chef's Choice 100W Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener, White

by Chef's Choice

Product Features

• Orbiting motion hones knives to true razor sharpness
• Three stages: presharpen, sharpen, hone for razor edge
• Magnetic guides hold blade at proper sharpening angle; no need to press down
• 100 percent diamond abrasives sharpen carbon and stainless-steel knives
• 2-year warranty against defects

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 6.2 x 5.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005QEZR
• Item model number: 100W
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,231 in Kitchen & Dining (See Top 100 in Kitchen & Dining)
  • #69 in Kitchen & Dining > Kitchen Knives & Cutlery Accessories > Knife Sharpeners

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

This widely praised electric sharpener is so simple to use that knives practically sharpen themselves. It puts a professional-style edge on any kitchen or sporting knife (except serrated knives). Because magnetic guides hold the blade at the proper angle, no guesswork is involved. You simply grip your knife loosely and pull it lightly through the sharpener's slots without pressing down. Key to this knife sharpener's performance are its three stages: presharpening to eliminate the old edge, sharpening to put on a new edge, and honing to polish the blade to a razor edge. These three stages create different bevels, putting a "shoulder" on an edge instead of sharpening with a single bevel. The shoulder strengthens the edge so it lasts longer. For each stage there is a pair of slots, and the sharpening and honing slots use 100 percent diamond abrasives for hardness. The sharpener measures 9 inches long, 4-1/4 inches high, and 3-3/4 inches deep and carries a two-year warranty against defects. --Fred Brack

Product Description

This widely praised electric sharpener is so simple to use that knives practically sharpen themselves. It puts a professional-style edge on any kitchen or sporting knife (except serrated knives). Because magnetic guides hold the blade at the proper angle, no guesswork is involved. You simply grip your knife loosely and pull it lightly through the sharpener's slots without pressing down. Key to this knife sharpener's performance are its three stages: presharpening to eliminate the old edge, sharpening to put on a new edge, and honing to polish the blade to a razor edge. These three stages create different bevels, putting a 'shoulder' on an edge instead of sharpening with a single bevel. The shoulder strengthens the edge so it lasts longer. For each stage there is a pair of slots, and the sharpening and honing slots use 100 percent diamond abrasives for hardness. The sharpener measures 9 inches long, 4-1/4 inches high, and 3-3/4 inches deep and carries a two-year warranty against defects. --Fred Brack

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

157 of 161 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good product and value with some caveats, May 13, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Chef's Choice 100W Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener, White (Kitchen)

While this product works well for household use and is a good value, there are a few caveats that should be recognized when using it. Although it greatly aids in sharpening, some degree of skill is required to sharpen a blade across its full length. It can take quite a bit of practice to evenly sharpen any curved portion of a blade and near both ends (the near the tip and bolster).

The bolster side of the blade can be difficult or impossible to sharpen for many knives because the case of the sharpener will hit the handle or bolster of the knife before grinding the full edge, leaving a significant portion of the blade unsharpened. For example, this unsharpened area may alter the straight edge of a chefs knife to prevent it from completely cutting through food.

Knives that have a lot of clearance between the blade and the handle such as butcher knives and large chefs knives can be sharpened through the bolster, but keeping a straight edge can remain a challenge because the magnet only maintains the angle of the cut but not vertical movement of the blade.

Because of these problems, some knives may require professional sharpening to reshape the blade after repeated use with this product. However, if properly used according to the instructions by avoiding the unnecessary use of the coarse stages, the need to do professional sharpening will be greatly reduced. The regular use of a honing steel will help to keep the edge sharp without removing much metal.

While this sharpener doesn't produce an edge that's as good as professional sharpening, nor does it eliminate the need for occasional blade reshaping, it works well for people who just want a quick and relatively easy way to sharpen knives for household use with a little practice.

I'd also suggest practicing with an inexpensive knife for a while before working with any finely crafted blades.

70 of 77 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have good knives and are clumsy, you need this!, April 4, 2002

By 

"f-n-c" (San Antonio del Mar, Mexico) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Chef's Choice 100W Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener, White (Kitchen)

I've been using the Chef's Choice for years now. I still use the one I bought in 1992 almost daily. My knives are still in wonderful shape and hold their edges beautifully.

The guesswork has been taken out of knife sharpening with this machine. I'm only so-so with a steel and in any case, a steel can't do the three stage sharpening that the Chef's Choice does. Since it holds the knife at the perfect angle for each step, it makes it easy for the fumble-fingered (like me) to create a perfect edge every time!

I'm buying one for my daughter now, mine is in perfect condition after more than 10 years and I imagine it will be for years to come yet!

I paid over 100 dollars for this very sharpener back then, which was a LOT of money at the time. They've come down so far in price that you haven't any excuse not to get one now!

54 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not For Your REAL Knives, April 2, 2004

By 

Vaughn McMillan "Woodturner, Writer, Musician" (Southern California, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Chef's Choice 100W Diamond Hone Knife Sharpener, White (Kitchen)

I've had one of these sharpeners for several years, and I have to echo another reviewer's comments: This tool is fine for average household knives, but if you know the difference between a sharp knife and a SHARP knife, you won't want to use this on your good cutlery.

I was raised by a knife afficianado, and learned knife sharpening the old-fashioned way (with natural and diamond stones, steels and careful technique). The results with this unit don't hold a candle to a knife sharpened the "right" way. As mentioned by others here, the edge left by the Chef's Choice is pretty rough when compared to a razor-sharp edge, although it IS useful for utility knives or re-setting the edge angles on an abused knife.

I've used this tool to good results "fixing" other peoples' knives -- you know the kind -- the ones that have been loose in the gadget drawer for 20 years, used for everything from hacking through frozen meat to tightening screws, and have never been sharpened. That said, I'd never let my Henckels, Wustofs, ot Forschners get close to this thing.

It's a fast way to repair abused knives and get things started towards sharpness, but by no means does it produce what I'd consider a "final" edge.